


Aulk

by GemmaRose



Series: Inhuman [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Rituals, Aromantic Hunk (Voltron), Background Relationships, Balmeran Hunk (Voltron), Body Modification, Developing Friendships, F/M, Family Planning, Feelings Jams, Feelings Realization, Geology, Illustrated, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Minor Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Minor Allura/Matt Holt/Shiro, Minor Allura/Shay (Voltron), Minor Keith/Lance (Voltron), Polyamory Negotiations, Relationship Discussions, Repairs, Team as Family, Transformation, Video & Computer Games, Weddings, how had i not tagged that yet?, whoops shoulda tagged those a while ago
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-17 10:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15459333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: Hunk's never been terribly interested in spending time with the diplomats they bring onboard the castle, beyond what's expected of him as a Paladin. But Shay... Shay's different.Art by the wonderfulQ on tumblr!





	1. Chapter 1

Time really did fly, in space. Or rather, it drifted, like most other things in the void, unmoored and aimless. Their first year or so on the castle had seemed to rush by, bouncing from one battle to another, chipping away at the Empire and building the Coalition until finally it all came crashing down on Zarkon’s head. Then things had gotten complicated with Lotor, and Zarkon had come back, and things had gotten _more_ complicated with Lotor and Commander Holt and all sorts of crazy things going on. After the official founding of the Imperial Coalition, though, things had settled down. Sort of. There had still been the whole drama with the fake Shiro, and Haggar, and he was pretty sure Lotor had suffered _some_ sort of breakdown at least once in that first year as Emperor but for him? Things had gotten downright boring.

Or, well, as boring as things could get when you were zipping around space with giant alien robot lions and an increasingly non-human crew. Which was, surprisingly, pretty boring. Shapeshifters, glowing freckles and eyes, purple skin, straight up Teen Titans style cyborgs? All accounted for, shapeshifters and purple-skinned aliens in _spades_ , and honestly the novelty wore off after the first few weeks on all of them. At least having ambassadors on the castle instead of a teludav-jump away alleviated the boredom a little bit. More than a little, in the case of a few particular ambassadors. 

“Hunk?” a gentle knock sounded in the doorway of the kitchen, and Hunk jolted as he was jarred from his thoughts. His head slammed into the top of the oven, and he hissed in pain as he extracted himself from the mostly-reassembled appliance, rubbing at the point of impact. “Oh, apologies.” Shay crossed the floor, her stony claws clicking on the pale metal. “I did not mean to startle you.” 

“It’s alright.” he waved a hand dismissively. “What’s up?” 

“Oh, nothing.” Shay hopped up to sit on the counter, looking down at him with a curious tilt of her head. “I simply wondered what you were doing.” 

“Oh.” Hunk grinned, looking at the pieces of metal spread around him in neat rows. “The oven was acting up, and I’ve been meaning to see how exactly this thing works anyway.” 

“Acting up?” Shay frowned. Right, most euphemisms didn’t translate well into Balmeran. 

“Sporadically malfunctioning.” he clarified. “Turns out, one of the heating elements was misaligned.” he held up the damaged crystal, twisting it between his fingers to display the scorching at either end and dark, cloudy particulates below the surface. “Every time it got too hot, the whole thing went haywire.” 

“Oh dear.” Shay’s eyes widened, brows rising almost to meet the darker, thicker plated scales that crowned her head. 

“Yeah, you think everything’s fine and then **wham** , pot of soup exploding in your face.” Hunk laughed. 

“Were you hurt?” Shay leaned forward, and Hunk shook his head. 

“Nah. Just annoyed, mostly.” that had been the final straw, if he was being honest. Flash-burnt food he could deal with, but flash-boiled ‘chicken’ stock in his face? The top layer had still been cool, thankfully, but taking the damn thing apart was the better option than having that happen again when the liquid might be hot enough to scald. 

“I am glad.” she smiled, straightening up again, her claws curled delicately against the underside of the lip of the counter. “How will it work, without that crystal?” 

“Well, for now the oven won’t be able to run its self-cleaning mode, but I had to scrub it down to get everything out so that’s no big.” he set the crystal down amongst the disassembled pieces, and looked into the guts of the appliance. “Aside from that, I think one of the burners might not work, but that’s easy enough to work around.” he shrugged, and looked back up at her. “But for real, were you looking for something?” 

Shay tilted her head slightly, pupil-less yellow eyes fixed on him with a slightly eerie intensity. Weird, how he’d been in space for years now and those flat eyes still unnerved him. Hers less than most, but still. 

“You.” she said at length, and Hunk startled minutely. He must’ve zoned out for a second there. Shay smiled, a soft little thing that he couldn’t help but mirror, and slipped off the counter to land lightly on the floor. “I sought your company.” 

“Me?” Hunk asked incredulously. Sure, he’d helped run the galra off her homeworld, but that had been years ago, and a team effort besides. The two of them had barely talked since Shay joined the onboard ambassadors a phoeb or two back. 

Shay nodded, picking her way towards the fridge around the edge of his carefully arranged bits of appliance on the floor. “I would like to hear more about your homeworld.” she said, eyes fixed on the door in front of her as she pulled it open to grab a chilled drink pouch. “You told me of the sky, but not much else.” 

“Oh.” Hunk grinned, returning his attention to fixing all the little wires back in place as Shay returned to her previous spot on the counter. “Well, what do you want to know about Earth? It’s a big place.” 

“Tell me about your home?” she asked, heels clicking softly against the cabinets. 

Hunk’s heart thudded against the inside of his chest, a sharp reminder of the dull ache of homesickness he’d gotten used to what felt like a lifetime ago. “What do you want to hear about it?” he asked, not quite able to make himself sound upbeat. 

“Nothing, if you do not wish to talk about it.” Shay said quickly, and Hunk huffed out a soft laugh. She really was something else, wasn’t she? 

“It’s alright, I just...” he sighed, shaking his head. “I miss them, y’know? My parents, my sisters, the whole family.” he blinked hard, squaring his jaw as he willed back tears. He had to get this wired up right, or turning on the stove could blow another crystal and he’d have to do this all over again. 

“I miss mine, as well.” Shay said softly. “Even Rax, and he has always been so frustrating.” 

“I mean, if any of my little sisters brought home an alien and said he needed help...” he trailed off, hands stilling, then chuckled softly. “Okay, I probably would’ve just helped them out. And made the alien watch Lilo & Stitch.” once he'd finished his obligatory panicking, of course. 

“What is that?” Shay asked, the gentle drumming of her hard-scaled heels against the cabinets going silent. 

“It’s a movie. Old, but still damn good.” he pulled his hands from the wires, gave them one last look-over, then slid out of the oven and found Shay leaning forwards with her head tilted slightly and a curious light in her golden eyes. “Someone explained movies to you, right?” he asked, and she giggled. 

“Yes.” she confirmed. “My first movement here. I have never heard of this particular movie, though.” 

“I’ll have to see if Pidge has it.” he mused, looking down at the component parts of the oven and picking up the first one that needed to be reattached over the exposed wiring. “But, without spoiling anything, it’s set on an island in my home state, and it’s about a little girl who adopts an angry alien.” a smile tugged at his lips, and he slid back into the oven to reaffix the metal plate. “It’s part of why I applied to the Garrison, actually.” 

“Because of an angry alien?” Shay’s puzzled frown was audible, and Hunk laughed. 

“ _Part_ of the reason.” he repeated. “There were other influences too.” 

“I’m sure.” Shay teased, the tapping of her heels resuming. “Tell me about this island of your home?” 

Hunk smiled again as he finished fixing the panel in place and slid back out to collect the next piece. “This is gonna take a while.” he warned. “I went on a huge geology kick for a while, after I learned about volcanoes.” 

“Volcanoes?” 

“Oh, man, that’s right. Balmeras aren’t like normal planets.” he chuckled, spinning the space screwdriver in his hand. “So, planet-scale geology 101 is the layers.” 


	2. Chapter 2

“What is swimming?”

Hunk blinked, stopping mid-sentence to turn and stare at Shay. He’d gotten used to her asking weird questions, but this was on a new level. “What do you mean, what’s swimming?”

“I have never heard the word before.” Shay tilted her head, golden eyes boring into his. “Has it to do with water?”

“Yeah.” Hunk nodded, then reconsidered. “Usually. Sometimes people go swimming in other things, but those are special cases. Or they’ll say that they’re swimming in something that’s not liquid, or sometimes even tangible, but that’s just a metaphor.”

“So it is, being in water?” Shay frowned. “I thought that was called bathing.”

“No, and not always.” Hunk chuckled. “Swimming is a way to move through water without having to touch the bottom.”

“How strange.” Shay smiled in that way she did when she learnt something new and interesting. “On Balmera, tales tell of crystal lakes, but none were ever so deep as to force our feet from the ground.”

“That’s so cool.” Hunk’s eyes shone, questions and possibilities running through his head. “Was it the same sort of crystal as the solid ones?”

Shay’s smile fell, and she looked down at her lap. “Yes, and with all the same properties. The galra counted it as precious as battleship class crystals, and drained every lake dry long before my day of first breath.”

“Oh.” Hunk looked down as well for a moment, but couldn’t resist glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. “Well, maybe your balmera will make some new ones, now that the galra are gone.”

“Perhaps.” she murmured, and Hunk tried to remember what he’d been talking about before Shay’s question. Something about, engineering maybe? Or maybe he’d been talking about home. He shook his head, and put on a bright smile as he straightened up and turned to face her properly.

“Well, we can look for some next time we visit your balmera. But for now, how about I show you the pool?”

“I have already seen the pool.” her mouth stayed downturned, but it was less a morose expression and more a confused one.

“The public one, yeah.” Hunk stood from the couch, and turned to offer her a hand. “But there’s a second one Lance and I fixed up, invite-only.”

“Should I be honoured?” Shay asked as she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet, cracking a small smile when he let go and rubbed his shoulder. Damn, he kept forgetting how _heavy_ balmerans were.

“I mean, if you wanna be?” He shrugged in reply, starting for the door. “You’ll be, probably the third non-Paladin in there?”

“Oh?” Shay cocked her head slightly to the side, following him out into the hall and towards the elevators. “Who are the others?”

“Allura and Coran. I mean, it’s their castle, so Shiro wouldn’t let Pidge set up the locks without running it by them first.” Allura had been surprisingly on board with the idea, despite not being on the access list. Something about Paladin spaces and alternative training. Lance had already been dragging him and Keith into the changing room at the time, and he’d never felt a need to ask her to repeat herself.

“But, aside from them, I am the first?” Shay smiled, small and shy, and Hunk flushed despite himself.

“I mean, not much point in having a private pool if you invite just anybody.” he waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, hey, elevators.” he hurried the last few feet, and hit the call button on the operation panel as Shay giggled.

“In that case, I am indeed most honoured, Hunk.” she laid a clawed hand on his elbow, and he turned to see her wearing a small but genuine smile. “Perhaps you could teach me to... swim? That is the correct form of the word, yes?”

“Yeah, it is.” Hunk nodded. “And sure, I can try. I mean, we may need to find some water wings, but I helped teach my baby sisters to swim, so if you can float I can teach you too.”

“What type of wings are meant for water?”

“Oh, not literal wings.” Hunk chuckled. “They’re like, little sturdy balloons that wrap around your arms here.” he patted her bicep, firm under the loose sleeve of her tunic. “They help keep you floating before you learn how to stay up on your own.”

“Interesting.”

They lapsed into silence as the elevator arrived, and only once he’d input the proper floor did Hunk realize a potential problem. “Oh, shit, we don’t have a swimsuit for you.” he looked her up and down, eyes settling on the base of her tail. Maybe if she wore a pair of trunks backwards? No, that was a dumb idea.

“Well, where did you find your swimsuit?”

“Lance found them, actually.” he smiled. “Apparently there’s a big old storage room on one of the lower levels that’s just chock full of clothes.”

Shay stared at him for a second, then two, and just as he was about to ask if she’d understood him she ducked her head, bringing a hand up to her mouth to muffle her giggles. “Apologies.” she managed as the doors slid open. “The word chock means something _very_ different in my language.”

Hunk felt his face burn, and quickly looked away. “Oh.”

“It is alright.” she giggled, and in his peripheral vision Hunk saw her reaching out to pick a new floor. “Allura showed me this storage room last week, so I could find new clothing if needed.” she smiled wide, the expression lighting up her whole face, and Hunk swallowed hard.

“That’s lucky.”

“Yes, fortunate indeed.” Shay nodded. The rest of the elevator ride passed in mostly-comfortable silence, and Hunk gestured for Shay to lead the way once the doors opened on a hallway just a few floors shy of the bottom of that particular elevator shaft.

When Shay opened one of the doors, it took Hunk a minute to realize that they’d reached the storage room. He’d been expecting something like you’d find on Earth, racks of clothing or stacks of boxes, but instead there was a long room with the usual pale grey walls and darker grey arches at regular intervals. He walked over to the nearest one, and waved a hand over the dimly glowing sensor in the middle. An operation panel popped up, displaying a number and some Altean words above a red icon and green icon.

“Can you read it?” Shay asked, leaning over his shoulder.

“Nope.” Hunk tapped the green icon, and the wall inside the arch vanished to reveal a _supremely_ fancy dress with far too many arms.

“Ooh.” Shay grabbed the dark metallic thing above the dress, and Hunk stepped aside as she pulled out a whole rack of gowns. “They’re so beautiful.” she murmured, lifting one down and holding it up to herself.

“They’ve got too many arms.” Hunk chuckled, taking another one down and holding it against his chest with one hand, using the other to stretch out the uppermost sleeve. “I wonder what species these are meant for.”

“Not either of ours, surely.” Shay chuckled, putting her dress back. Hunk followed suite, and they slid the rack back into its alcove. It looked like they were going to have to go through these one by one, but he couldn’t bring himself to care that much. He had nowhere to be for a while, and it was as good a way as any to spend his downtime.


	3. Chapter 3

“How long ago were the gnyclesh absorbed into the Empire?” Shay asked, perched on the edge of Allura’s bed.

“Uhhh...” he wracked his brain, nose wrinkling as Allura fiddled with one of the ties on his fancy outfit. “Fifteen years ago?”

Allura thwacked him upside the head without even straightening up. “Try again.”

Shit. He grimaced, trying to recall the information Shay had spent the last weeks helping him go over in his downtime. “Fifty years?”

“Fifteen hundred _deca-phoebs_.” Shay corrected him, and he winced.

“Right, right. I knew that.”

“Yes, but you have to show the gnyclesh that you know. They hold their history sacred, and to get it wrong...” she trailed off, and Hunk adamantly kept looking straight ahead instead of turning to look at her. “If you get it wrong, it’s not the end of the universe.” she stood, setting aside his flashcards. “You know that, right?”

“Yeah.” he managed a grin. “Not the end of the universe, just the loss of a planet that leads their whole star system and has the final say in who gets to use their resources, now that they’re free of the Empire.”

“You’re overthinking this.” Allura huffed, standing and taking a step back to cross her arms over her chest.

“Can you blame me?” he asked, his voice squeaking slightly.

“No, but I can tell you that you are being illogical.” Allura’s gaze pinned him in place, pink and blue and cold as ice. “You are a Paladin of Voltron, and have been for almost two deca-phoebs now. You have faced far worse than this.”

“Illogi-” Hunk frowned at her. “Did Lance tell you to say that?”

“Shiro, actually, but that’s beside the point.” she waved her hand dismissively.

“Which is?”

“That you have no reason to be afraid. Shay will be with you, and I will be-” she broke off coughing into her elbow, and Hunk staggered slightly as Shay rushed past him to the princess’s side.

“You should sit.” she insisted, leading Allura over to the chair by the vanity.

“I’m fine.” Allura attempted to wave Shay off, and Hunk chuckled softly as he watched Shay all but bodily wrestle her into the seat.

“And stay there.” she huffed as she straightened up, fixing her own ornate robes. “Now, you.” she turned on Hunk, and he held his hands up. “Start from the top, tell me every piece of gnyclesh history you remember.”

He sighed, and fixed his gaze on the wall as Shay crouched to re-do the last knot Allura had been working on and then began to redo it. “It began many thousands of deca-phoebs ago.” he intoned, solemn as an oral exam, and Shay nodded as he kept going, over countries and wars and politics in the sketchiest of details and loosest of timelines. The important thing was when the Empire came into the story, how the gnyclesh had driven them off twice before their planet was ravaged by endless waves of robotic soldiers and forcibly brought under Zarkon’s thumb.

After that, it was the same story he’d heard time and again at victory parties on liberated planets. The Empire had done their best to strip the planet bare and crush their spirits, but they had endured. They had endured, and now wished to join the Coalition. He finished with a practiced bow, and when he straightened Shay and Allura clapped politely. “Perfect. Now you just have to remember all that _without_ reciting the whole thing.”

Hunk groaned, letting his head hang back, and Allura laughed softly. “You do look wonderful, though.”

“A proper diplomat.” Shay nodded in agreement, and took Hunk by the shoulder to turn him towards a mirror so he could see himself properly. Flowy fabric hung in long lines from his shoulders and waist, the jacket-like layer loose over the underlying two layers of wrapped shirts. He lifted a hand to fiddle with the fabric where it overlapped over his chest, and Shay swatted his hand away. “Don’t fuss with it.” she scolded gently.

“Right, right.” he lowered his hand to double check the tightness of the fancy knot Allura had tied to keep the skirt part of the robes shut, since if that came loose the shirts would flop open too, and after a couple tugs he smiled. “I look like I belong in an anime.” he chuckled, and Shay rolled her eyes. Somehow. He still wasn’t sure how that worked when she didn’t have irises or even pupils, but somehow it did. “Hey, you do too.” he pointed out, meeting her eyes in the mirror. Their outfits were pretty much identical, after all, just in different colours. Shades of green for Shay, yellows and a bit of near-black brown for him, and Allura of course had her usual white-pink-blue look going. Combined with her hair, it made her look about twice as anime as him and Shay put together.

“Oh, one last thing.” Shay plucked his headband from his forehead, and Hunk whirled to grab for it with an offended squawk.

“Give it back!”

“Turn around.” she grinned, holding it out of his reach. He considered kneeing her in the gut, but a glance at Allura sitting on the edge of her seat dissuaded him.

“Fine.” he huffed, and spun on his heel so his back was to both of them. Shay carded her fingers through his hair, which was getting long enough to brush his shoulders, and carefully pulled it into a bundle at the back of his head. He shivered as her claws dragged over his scalp, polished smooth for today’s meeting with the gnyclesh leaders, but held still as she wound the fabric around his hair to secure it in place.

 

“There, much better.” she smiled, arranging the trailing ends to hang down the back of his neck. He couldn’t deny that she was right, the headband wasn’t really a formal look, but a chill wave of self-consciousness rushed through him as he stared at his reflection.

“I look like an idiot.”

“I do not understand.” Shay frowned, placing her hands on his shoulders as they slumped. “We all know you are brilliant.”

“You look fine.” Allura sighed, and Hunk turned to see her standing up with a slight wobble. “Now come on, you can go over their history again while we’re en route.”

Shay crossed the room to Allura’s side, and Hunk’s chest twinged as she took the princess’s arm to lead her out of the room. He tugged gently at his clothes, shifting the wrapped fabric back and forth, and when the weird feeling didn’t fade gripped the fabric below to reposition it slightly. That helped a bit, and he made a mental note to take a nice long shower as soon as they got back. Between missions and training and having more than just seven people on the castle, he hadn’t been spending nearly enough time with his binder off in the past few months.

He followed them to the hangar, and only as he was guiding their shuttle out of the castle did he fully pull himself out of his own thoughts. Shaking his head, he did his best to put his worries aside as he guided them down towards the planet. A touch on his elbow startled him, and he looked over to see Shay leaned between the pilot and copilot seats giving him a small smile.

“You will charm them all, I am sure.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” he chuckled, the familiar tight ball of anxiety under his diaphragm loosening slightly.

“I have every faith in you, Hunk.”

“Thank you, Shay.” he managed a more genuine smile this time. “That means a lot to me.”

She gave his elbow a gentle squeeze, and Hunk’s chest tightened as she returned to Allura’s side. Her smile widened as she sat down next to the princess, saying something soft enough he couldn’t make it out over the soft hum of the engine. Hunk turned back to the controls, and wondered if he could get Coran to pod him when they got back to check on his ribs.


	4. Chapter 4

“Vamos, vamos.” Lance muttered under his breath, eyes glowing slightly as he hunched over the controller and tried to button mash his way through the boss fight for the third time. Tried being the operative word, as it charged its super-attack and obliterated his party. Again.

Lance let out a shout of frustration, and threw his controller down on the floor before slumping back against the edge of the bed. Hunk chuckled, and reached out to pat him on the head. “I think you need to be a higher level to win this fight.”

Lance whined, sitting up so his head pushed into Hunk’s hand, snowy white almost-curls slipping through his fingers. “I saved inside the boss room.” he whined, and Hunk swallowed another laugh. Laughing at that would be unspeakably rude.

“Well, that sucks.” he said, scratching gently at Lance’s scalp. “Can you shuffle your party or something?”

“I could, but that’s giving up.” Lance groaned, hanging his head back and batting his silver eyelashes at Hunk. “Got any tips?”

“Hey, Pidge is the one with the cheat codes memorised.” Hunk held his hands up. “And how are cheat codes any better than switching your party anyways?”

“It just is, okay?” Lance huffed, turning his crystal blue eyes back to the screen and leaning forwards to grab the controller. “Like, like getting something to tape onto a wrench for more leverage instead of getting a different tool to take the nut out.”

“Bolt.” Hunk corrected him reflexively, and Lance shrugged.

“You get it though, right?”

He sorta did. At some point, it became less about getting the job done expediently and more about the principle of the thing. “Kinda.” he answered eventually, once Lance had started the game up again and entered the character selection menu. “Who’re you going with?”

“Biggest bruisers I’ve got.” Lance grinned, selecting a character in horrendously clashing armour. The name ThunderC floated under his headshot in the party bar, next to a set of stat bars Hunk could only assume were impressive for his level.

“Censored by the eight character name limit?” he asked, and Lance elbowed him in the shin.

“No.”

“Suuure.” he drawled, and Lance twisted to smack at him.

“Like your names are any better!”

“Dude, I literally named my active party after people on the castle.”

“Yeah, and that’s totally lame.” Lance turned back to the screen, slowly moving the cursor between two options, comparing... probably their stats? He’d only played through the tutorial level to prove to Lance that he was bad at this game format. “How’re things going, by the way?”

“Alright.” Hunk shrugged. “Boring as ever.”

“Dude, we literally stopped a planet-wide genocide yesterday. What the hell do you count as _exciting_?”

“I mean, yeah, that was pretty intense, but day-to-day here’s just as boring as it was on Earth.” Hunk shrugged.

“Well then, what have you been doing in your totally boring downtime on an ancient spaceship castle full of aliens?” Lance asked pointedly. Hunk rolled his eyes.

“Same old, same old, mostly.” he leaned back on his hands. “Helping Pidge and Coran with maintenance and upgrades, keeping the mice entertained, enabling Matt in teaching the ambassadors memes.”

Lance snorted. “You’re not teaching them yourself?”

“Nah.” he shook his head. “Shay’s really determined to make me the official third ambassador from the core crew, and Alluras think memeing at diplomats ‘isn’t an effective de-escalation tactic’.” he put on a higher, breathy voice for the last bit, complete with his best impression of Allura’s pseudo-british accent.

“What’s Shay think?”

“Shay’s an accomplice.” Hunk chuckled, grinning a little wider. “I got her with updog, and once I finished explaining what a dog is she went and pulled it on Allura.”

Lance laughed, selecting a combo move for his next attack turn. “Just an accomplice, huh?”

“Well, I mean, she’s a friend too obviously.” Hunk rolled his eyes.

“Friend friend, or should I be getting jealous?” Lance teased, and Hunk blinked at him.

“What?”

“You practically never shut up about her.” Lance selected a healing item, then looked over his shoulder at Hunk. “And even when I see her with Allura, it’s like she’s talking you up.”

“Really?” Hunk felt his cheeks warm, and Lance cracked a grin before turning back to the game.

“I can’t believe I’m jealous of a rock.” he joked.

“I’m still not following.”

“Dude, you’ve got a pale crush on her the size of a Yelaxian pearl.” Lance scoffed. Hunk opened his mouth to refute it, then shut it without saying anything. He’d not thought much about the nature of his and Shay’s relationship, but they _had_ gotten closer over the, what, year now that she’d been an ambassador? And he hadn’t really thought about his relationship with Lance until Lance kinda forced the issue back at the Garrison, after about the same amount of time now that he thought about it. Weird coincidence, that.

“Huh. I think I might, actually.”

“Oblivious, much?” Lance laughed. 

“Hey, you don’t get to talk about being oblivious.” Hunk leaned forwards and flicked Lance in the back of the head. “You didn’t even realize Keith was gay until he started making out with you.”

“Okay, one, I lowkey thought he wasn’t into _anyone_. And two, fuck you, it wasn’t making out.”

“Kinda looked like it.” Hunk teased.

“It was just kissing!” Lance protested, turning around to throw the controller at him.

“Still took a kiss to get your head out of your ass.” Hunk laughed, catching the controller and handing it back. “How’re things between you, by the way?”

“Pretty good.” Lance grinned, turning back to the game. “I think, when we get to go home, I’m gonna introduce him to my moms.”

“Honestly thought you were gonna say propose there.” Hunk leaned back again, resting his weight on his hands.

“I mean, maybe?” Lance shrugged. “If I’m proposing, though, I’m gonna do it right. Big blingy ring and everything.”

Hunk snorted at the mental image of Keith with one of those huge gaudy celebrity engagement rings. He kinda hoped he was there to witness that, if Keith didn’t beat Lance to the punch. Knowing the two of them it’d be an utter train wreck of a proposal, and Pidge would love to have video. Actually, in that case Shiro would be a better witness, and he was just as unlikely to step in.

“But like, you and Shay.” Lance broke the comfortable silence after a few more rounds of gameplay. “If you wanna be just friend friends with me and ask her for a queerplanetonic whatever, I’d be okay with that.”

Hunk straightened up, frowning at the back of Lance’s head. “Lance, c’mon. Do you really think I’d ditch you just to go chasing after someone else? Platonic or not, that’s a total dick move.” not to mention the fact that Lance didn’t really _sound_ entirely fine with the idea, and the last time he’d let Lance have some space to work things out on his own, well... it had worked out alright in the end, but he still felt almost sick sometimes when he looked at the splotches of crystal vitiligo on Lance’s arm and leg. 

“C’mon, man.” Lance cajoled. “I’ve got Keith, and it’s not like you’re gonna stop being my friend or anything, right?”

“Lance, the last time I let our relationship fall by the wayside you almost _died_.”

“But I didn’t, and it got Keith and I together.”

“Your skeleton is made of crystal, Lance.” Hunk said flatly. Lance shrugged.

“True. But what are you gonna do, just try to ignore your feelings and hope they go away?” he chuckled at his own joke. “Gotta tell you, I don’t think that works as well as it does in movies and stuff.”

“It doesn’t even work in movies.” Hunk chuckled. “But even if it did, I don’t think I’d want to.”

“So, we _are_ breaking up?” Lance turned around to frown at him, leaving the game paused on a move selection menu.

“What, no.” Hunk frowned at him.

“I’m lost.”

“Same.” Hunk blinked, then groaned as he dropped his head into one hand. “You never read those links, did you?”

“The ones for Amalia? Nope.” he shook his head. “Should I have?”

“Considering they were about aromanticism and we’d just gotten together? Probably.” he sighed, flopping down on his back and staring up at the ceiling as he tried to figure out how to explain something which had seemed so much like common sense when he first read about it.

“Remember how I likened queerplatonic relationships to moirallegiance?” he asked rhetorically as the edge of the mattress dipped next to him. “It’s not entirely accurate.”

“I kinda figured.”

“One thing that’s different, is it’s not inherently an exclusive relationship.”

“Huh?”

Hunk looked over, and sighed at the look of confusion on Lance’s face. “A lot of the time, people have multiple qpps. Especially if some of them aren’t aromantic.”

“But isn’t that cheating?”

“Is Allura cheating on Lotor because she’s dating Shay?” he asked, and watched Lance’s brow furrow. “Are Matt and Shiro cheating on each other with whatever the hell they’ve got going with Allura? Are you cheating on me when you’re with Keith?”

“That’s, different though.” Lance said slowly. “You and me, me and Keith, it’s different.”

“Lance, look.” Hunk sat up with a huff, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I care about you, and you’ve helped me realize that I care about Shay the same way. I _have_ liked about her the same way I like you for, probably a few months now, and it hasn’t changed anything between us.” he gestured vaguely at the space between himself and Lance, watching his partner’s face carefully. “If you’re really that uncomfortable with it, I won’t say anything to her, but I want her to know.”

Lance chewed his lip, eyes drifting from Hunk’s face to his hand to the controller he was still holding, thumb rolling the analog stick in an idle circle. “You promise this won’t change anything?”

“Promise.” Hunk smiled, reaching out to lay his hand over Lance’s. “All that’ll happen, if she feels the same, is we’ll have a different word for what we are.”

“You’re not gonna give her sexy cuddle privileges?” Lance asked, sounding part petulant and part genuinely curious.

“Lance, she’s a _rock_.” Hunk snorted. “The chance of her even being anatomically compatible with me is so small it’s not worth considering.”

“Yeah, but... still.” Lance pouted slightly at him, and Hunk rolled his eyes.

“Why does it matter so much to you, anyways? You’re pretty much exclusive with Keith now.”

Lance opened his mouth, then shut it again, a thoughtful look on his face. “I guess I just, don’t like the idea of sharing you.” he muttered after a quiet minute.

“I promise I won’t like you any less.” Hunk chuckled, but Lance’s little frown remained. He sighed, and raised a hand to tilt Lance’s chin up. “Hey, how about this. I won’t tell Shay until you’ve had time to get used to the idea. We’re both technically grown-ups, so let’s try to handle this like mature adults.”

Lance chuckled, and pulled Hunk’s hand up to rest on his cheek. “Mature adults?” he asked disbelievingly. “You taught Shay _updog_.”

“Hey, memes are valuable cultural exchange.” Hunk defended, but he couldn’t keep a grin from spreading across his face.

Lance laughed, a breathy little thing that made Hunk’s chest ache just slightly, and he held Hunk’s wrist delicately to keep his hand still and plant a kiss in the middle of his palm. “I may not like sharing, but five siblings gives you plenty of practice sharing when you don’t really want to.” he smiled, soft and“I’d hate for you to miss out on your chance because I’m being selfish.”

“See?” Hunk grinned, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to Lance’s cheek. “Settled like mature adults.”

A second later he yelped as Lance licked the hand still resting lightly over his mouth, and yanked it back with a glare. “I take it back, you are _so_ immature.”

Lance laughed, and Hunk wiped his hand on the blanket with a grimace. “This is why you’re not an official diplomat.” he said matter-of-fact-ly, and Lance shrugged.

“That, and I didn’t really want to be. Too many rules and stuff, too much shit to memorise.”

“There is a lot of memorising.” Hunk nodded. “You gonna finish the fight, or...” he inclined his head towards the TV screen, and Lance seemed to consider abandoning it for a second before he grinned and slid off the edge of the bed to sit cross legged on the floor again.

“Once I pass this, I’m gonna _wreck_ Pidge’s high score in the next area.”

“Sure you will.” Hunk chuckled, making himself comfortable again as he watched Lance finally select something from the menu and bring the fight back into motion. Most days it seemed like life in space swung from dead dull to a deadly level of ‘exciting’ without hardly a breath in between, but every once in a while a moment like this came along. A perfect, crystalline bubble of time where things were good and right and warm in a way that had nothing to do with temperature.

It would end eventually, as all moments did, but Hunk was determined to enjoy this one while it lasted.


	5. Chapter 5

“Hey, Shay?” Hunk knocked on the doorframe, and his stomach churned anxiously as she looked up from her datapad. She smiled, and he forced down any thoughts of how horribly wrong this could go.

“Hunk. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I, uh, wanted to talk. About us.” he said haltingly, already mentally kicking himself for not having rehearsed this more.

“Alright.” Shay set down her datapad and stood from her little desk, walking over to sit on the edge of her un-padded bed. Hunk crossed the room almost robotically and sat next to her, clasping his hands together between his knees. He could do this. He’d managed to explain it to Lance, back at the Garrison, and now he had his and Lance’s relationship as an example. This was just another cultural exchange, like he’d done a hundred times before with her and other ambassadors. Nothing to fear.

A smile flickered across his face at the mental image of a foxsquirrel with his headband, and he straightened up with a deep breath. “So, on Earth, we have different types of relationships between people who aren’t family.” he started, falling back on the explanation he’d written and re-written and read out loud until it was all but seared into his brain. “On the one hand there’s romantic relationships, like what Keith and Lance have, or Matt and Shiro.” he held up a hand, more to have something to do with it than out of any need for a demonstration. “On the other there’s platonic relationships like Matt and, uh,” he blinked as he lifted his other hand, trying to recall the name of Matt’s newest ambassador friend. Fuck, he was drawing a total blank here. “Most of the ambassadors, I guess.” he shrugged.

Shay giggled, but nodded, watching him patiently.

“But, well, you know humans, things don’t divvy up that neatly. Like, ever, anywhere in nature. There’s never just two options, there’s always a third, or at least exceptions. And, well, one of those third-option exceptions is sorta right between friends and lovers.” he wiggled the associated Platonic and Romantic hands for friends and lovers, then brought the lovers hand in to hold upright in front of his chest. “This, isn’t actually super accurate.” he said as the realization hit him. “It’s a totally platonic relationship, but like, as intense and meaningful and committed as a romantic one.”

“Oh!” Shay nodded her head quickly, and said a word that didn’t translate. Hunk blinked, and lowered his hands.

“Sorry, could you say that slower?”

She repeated herself, and he shook his head. “Yeah, no, the translator’s not getting that.”

Shay huffed, her mouth twisting in a thoughtful frown. “It is, a life bond.” she said slowly, her brows drawn together. “When one does not wish to find a mate and marry, sometimes Balmera will bless their union anyway, with one they call friend. A union of such ones is known as aulk, and only rarely will such a one also seek a marriage mate.”

“Huh.” Hunk blinked, then grinned. “That’s _exactly_ the type of thing I was trying to get at. I’m like that.” he pressed a hand to his chest over his heart. “I don’t like people romantically, never have.”

“And you wish to form an aulk bond with me?”

Hunk nodded. “Lance and I are already in that kind of relationship, it’s called queerplatonic in our language, but last movement I realized, well, I feel the same way about you.” he gave her a small smile, and Shay brought her hands up to cup his cheeks. Her palms were rough, rougher than the rest of her stony skin, and Hunk’s smile widened as Shay leaned forward to press her forehead and nose to his.

“I am honoured to be held in such high regard by a Paladin of Voltron.” she said softly, her golden eyes filling his vision. “And I would happily accept your offer of aulk companionship, were we not both already committed to others.”

“Even if Lance already said he’s okay with it?”

Shay pulled back, a frown pulling at her lips. “He what?”

“Queerplatonic relationships aren’t exactly the same as aulk ones, I guess.” Hunk said lamely. “On Earth, it’s kinda common to have more than one queerplatonic partner. Not, like, expected or anything but not uncommon either. So, when I realized I had feelings for you, I talked to him about it and he kinda encouraged me to ask you.” he bit his lip to stop himself from devolving into babbling, and kept his eyes on Shay’s face as she considered what he’d said.

“I would still have to ask Allura.” she said eventually.

“Allura who’s in at least one, probably two other romantic relationships?” Hunk raised an eyebrow. As far as he could tell from some subtle prodding at Allura and slightly less subtle questions to Coran, alteans were polynormative. Plus, this was a queerplatonic relationship he was proposing, not a romantic one, so there wasn’t any reason to worry about stepping on Allura’s toes.

“But this is not a romantic relationship.” Shay chided, releasing his face to tap him on the nose with one finger. “And it’s rude to presume, regardless.”

“True.” he muttered.

“But, if this is acceptable to your people, then... I shall ask Allura.” Shay nodded resolutely, and Hunk beamed at her.

“Thanks, Shay. It means a lot to me.”

“I’m sure.” she giggled, and gently prised his hands apart to take one in her own. “Now that’s settled, though, would you like to spend some time together?”

“Of course.” he gave her hand a squeeze, and his stomach did a little flip when she smiled in response.

\---

“Good morning.”

Hunk wasn’t sure if it was the soft murmur in his ear that made him startle or the physical contact that accompanied it, firm arms wrapping gently around his waist and a body pressing up against his back. His hand reflexively flashed down to call his bayard, and he winced as he smacked himself in the thigh with the spatula he was holding.

“Morning greetings, Ambassador Shay.” Veks bobbed their antenna politely, and Hunk heard Shay giggle softly as she released him and stepped back.

“Morning greetings, Ambassador Veks.” Hunk turned his head slightly, returning to the absent task of scrambling eggs, and saw her incline her head respectfully. “Did you sleep pleasantly?”

“Very.” their antenna and vestigial second set of arms waved happily.

“Hey, no distracting my sous-chef.” Hunk scolded, and Shay laughed again, moving towards the kousa machine.

“Do you want some?” she asked as she reached around Pidge to grab a mug from the cabinet.

“Nah, I’m good.” he shook his head. “And so’s Pidge.” he added as he spotted the Green Paladin reaching for their own empty mug.

“Huuunk.” they whined, pouting at him.

“Hey, Doctor’s orders.” he grinned unrepentantly. “You can have more if you stay human while it’s in your system, but otherwise no more until you’ve finished processing all the caffeine already in you.”

“Buzzkill.” they huffed, and went back to typing on their laptop.

“Caffeine addict.” he fired back with a grin, and didn’t even have to look to know Pidge flipped him off.

“You are happy today.” Shay remarked, hopping up to perch on the counter on the other side of the kousa machine from Pidge.

Hunk shrugged, turning off the heat and lifting the pan with one hand, half dumping half scraping the eggs into a serving bowl. “Yeah, I guess. Veks, the rest of the eggs need to come out in a tick, grab the mitts for me.”

Veks clicked affirmatively, and out of the corner of his eye Hunk caught Shay smiling into her mug of kousa. His stomach twisted, and he focused his attention back on making breakfast. Keith and Shiro would be off the training deck in a few minutes, and up in the dining room not long after, so things had to start going out pretty much now. “Hey, Shay, can you take this out?” he set the bowl of specially prepared eggs aside. “They’re for-”

“Sterop and Frekh, I know.” she set her mug down and slid off the counter gracefully, walking over to pick up the bowl. “Oh, and by the way,” she leaned in and nuzzled at his cheek, close enough for him to feel her smile. “Allura wishes us many deca-phoebs of happiness.”

Hunk jolted as Shay pulled away, whirling to face her. “You asked already?”

“Last night.” she nodded, smiling brightly. Hunk beamed, and grabbed Shay by the elbow as he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

“Ugh, PDA alert.” Pidge huffed.

“You’re just jealous.” Hunk grinned, but his smile vanished after a second. “Pidge, put that space-coffee down.”

“Make me.”

“I’ll tell Matt!”

They froze with the mug halfway to their lips, and their face did that weird scrunching thing like they wanted to wrinkle their nose but had forgotten their cateloan form didn’t have one. “You’re no fun.”

“Well excuse me for not wanting you podded for freaking poisoning yourself again.” he rolled his eyes. Pidge grumbled, but shifted their arm longer again to put Shay’s mug back where she’d left it.

Shay giggled at their exchange and shifted the bowl of eggs to one arm, grabbing her mug as she walked towards the dining room. Hunk watched her go with a fond little smile, and a tap on his shoulder dragged his attention back to the task at hand.

“Oh, thanks Veks.” he took the oven mitts and slipped them on, crouching to look in on the eggs.

“You’ve got it _bad_.” Pidge commented.

And really, there was nothing he could say to refute that.


	6. Chapter 6

“Can you believe it’s been four years?” Lance asked, leaning up against his side.

“It really hasn’t felt like it.” Hunk shook his head. Bouncing from planet to planet, sometimes dealing with all four seasons and then some in a single week, they’d only had their phones and Pidge’s computer to keep track of time passing. Well, technically they had the castle systems too, but the measurements didn’t quite match up. It still didn’t feel real, though. Four years to put a new Emperor on the throne, turn ten thousand years of oppression on its head, and mostly handle the dissenting factions that wanted to cling to the old ways. Sendak was still kicking up a fuss, but with Haggar finally defeated he was willing to bet it wouldn’t be long before they took down that particular rogue faction for good.

“Peace in our time.” Lance muttered, taking a sip of his drink, and Hunk followed his friend’s gaze to where Keith was dancing with his mom.

“You’re thinking about it again, aren’t you?” he grinned, and Lance’s cheeks darkened with blush, his freckles glowing softly.

“So what if I am?” he huffed, looking away. “We’ve been together for years, and-”

“Dude, chill.” Hunk lifted his arm to wrap around Lance’s shoulders in a gentle hug. “It’s on my mind too.”

“You don’t even do romance.” Lance looked at him again, lips curved down in a gentle frown.

“Still.” he leaned in to bump their noses together, earning a quick little smile. “It’s a wedding, anyone who’s in a committed relationship is probably thinking about their own.”

“Well, I don’t think I could pull off double rings.” Lance joked, and Hunk snorted.

“I know.” he scanned the dance floor and found Shay and Narti together. It looked a bit like Shay was trying to teach Narti a specific dance, their heads bowed together and Shay’s mouth moving as the two of them moved in half time.

“Shay probably could, though.” Lance noted, and Hunk snorted as he let his arm drop.

“Lance, Allura literally just got married. She’s not marrying Shay too.”

“Well it didn’t seem like she was breaking up with anybody yesterday.” he pointed out, and Hunk rolled his eyes.

“She’s not. She just can’t _marry_ them because Lotor’s the Emperor.” he explained. Lance nodded, but Hunk could tell he didn’t really get it. For someone so good with people, Lance sure could be an idiot when it came to relationships outside Earth norms.

“I’m gonna do it.” Lance said after a minute of companionable silence between them. “When we kick Sendak’s ass and go back to Earth, I’m gonna take him to the beach and propose.”

“Just make sure you get a ring that’ll actually fit him.” Hunk grinned, and Lance whacked him on the shoulder.

“I’ll get you or Pidge to help me make it auto-fit, like our armour.”

“High-tech, huh? I had you pegged for a traditional guy.”

“Oh don’t get me wrong, there’s gonna be a nice shiny rock on there.” Lance grinned at him, then his gaze wandered back to the dance floor, where Keith was laughing at something his mom had said. “But Keith’s not one for shiny trinkets that don’t have a practical use.”

“Awww.” Hunk grinned, and Lance swatted him again without looking.

“I just, I want this.” he said softly. “I want him, forever, even when he’s being a complete pain in the ass.”

“I think that’s called love.” Hunk chuckled, giving Lance another one-armed hug. They lapsed back into silence after that, and Hunk found his eye drawn to Shay again, now surrounded by Lotor’s Generals and evidently teaching all of them the same dance she’d shown Narti. He’d not let himself think about the future very much, before. Not since he realized that any battle could be his last. But now, here, at Lotor and Allura’s wedding with the promise of peace on the horizon...

Forever with his partners didn’t sound too bad.

\---

“Something is on your mind.” Shay said softly, lifting a hand to touch his cheek, gently tilting his head down to look at her.

“Yeah.” he nodded, tracing his fingers back along one of the seams in her cranial plating. “Lance and I were talking, at the wedding earlier.” he started slowly, letting Shay’s contented chittery noise settle in his chest as he traced around the base of the small horn that emerged from the slight gap between plates on her head. “And it got me thinking about the future. About us.”

Shay blinked up at him, rubbing her thumb over his cheek. “You wish for an aulk bond.” she guessed, and he nodded.

“I want a future with you.” he slid his hand down from her horn to curl around the back of her audial cone. “I want to bring you home to my parents and have them be your parents too.”

“I think I would like that.” Shay smiled, and pulled him down to meet her halfway when she sat up to rub her nose against his cheek. He returned the motion, and when they parted slightly he pressed a kiss to her rough skin.

“I want us to be a family.” he murmured, and the second the words left his mouth he knew them to be true. He’d always wanted to have a family, to have children, and sure they’d probably have to adopt because they weren’t even the same _species_ but that didn’t matter.

“Oh, that we should be so blessed.” Shay laughed, soft and warm, and Hunk kissed the tip of her nose.

“Not right now, of course, but-”

“Of course.” Shay nodded, sitting up fully and scooting back so she had her legs draped over his lap. “Once there is peace, I would be honoured to make a family with you.” her hands came up to frame his face, her touch soft as anything despite the roughness of her palms, and he leaned into her as she rested her forehead against his.

“You’re not going to talk it over with Allura first?” he asked, half teasing half serious. Shay chuckled, and pulled away to shake her head.

“She and I are no more compatible than we.” she gestured between them, and Hunk frowned as he settled a hand on her hip.

“Wait, if we’re not compatible-”

“Balmera will provide.” Shay nodded her head once, as if that statement made perfect sense. Which, he supposed it did if balmerans weren’t born the same way humans were.

“So, wait, you guys literally pop up out of holes in the ground?” he cracked a grin, but Shay just stared blankly at him. Right, Lord of the Rings had been veto’d because the translator tech couldn’t handle it. “Sorry, pop culture reference.” he shook his head briefly. “What I meant was, you’re saying that balmerans come out of the balmera and all we have to do is go adopt one?”

“No.” Shay frowned further, looking slightly frustrated. “We would have to ask Balmera. I have heard tales...”

Hunk blinked at her blankly, then shook his head again, slower this time. “Maybe the balmera can explain it when we go there for our aulk bonding ceremony.” he suggested, and Shay perked up.

“You would request such a detour?”

“Well, yeah.” he gave her a little grin. “You said so yourself, aulk unions have to be blessed by the balmera and witnessed by family to be legitimate.”

“By family of both.” Shay frowned. “We will have to wait-”

“Come on.” Hunk grabbed her hands. “You’re telling me there’s no exception for when family aren’t available?”

“I suppose.” her frown didn’t fade, and Hunk leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

“What if we invite the other Paladins?” he suggested. “Our team’s all the family Shiro’s got left, so by the transitive property of familial relationships they’re my family too.”

“That could be acceptable.” Shay smiled, and he kissed her other cheek.

“I’ll ask Allura first thing tomorrow.” he promised, and Shay giggled.

“Allura will not be here tomorrow, remember?” she tapped him on the nose, and he flushed. Right, she and Lotor were on their honeymoon right now.

“I’ll ask when she gets back, then.” he squeezed Shay’s hands, and she returned the pressure with a bright grin.

“Rax will be so upset.” she laughed, and Hunk ducked his head against her shoulder.

“He will.” he agreed, and lifted his head to press a kiss to the tip of her audial cone.


	7. Chapter 7

Hunk fidgeted, and Lance smacked at his hands to keep him from tugging on the edges of his cape.

“Relax.” Lance huffed, rolling his eyes.

“I’m about to get alien platonic-married.” he hissed, and Lance swatted his hand again.

“To a very nice rock who you’ve known for like four years and whose family adores you.”

“She’s not a rock.” he huffed, crossing his arms and curling his fingers under the upper edges of his vambraces. “And her relatives don’t all even like me.”

“Rax doesn’t like anybody.” Lance rolled his eyes so hard Hunk was a little surprised he didn’t strain something. “And if he has any objections, you’ve got us on your side to back you up, and the rest of his family will overrule him anyways.” he straightened Hunk’s cape and stepped back with a grin. “There, perfect.”

Hunk only barely resisted the urge to grab the edge and start fiddling with it again.

“I’m almost jealous, y’kno.” Lance smiled, absently brushing non-existent dust off of Hunk’s’ chestplate as his freckles glowed brighter. “This place is way prettier than our temple back home.”

Hunk nodded, chewing on the inside of his cheek until Lance patted his face. “What if I mess it up?” he asked, and Lance sighed.

“You won’t mess it up.” he grabbed Hunk firmly by the shoulders. “And even if you do, you can’t possibly mess it up worse than Orshan did.”

Hunk couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory of Lance telling him that story the first time, fresh back from winter break and his eldest sister’s wedding. “I guess you’re right.” he admitted.

“Of course I’m right.” Lance patted his cheek again. “Now c’mon, it’s time for you to get in place.”

Hunk took a deep breath, exhaled until his lungs were empty, and nodded. “Right, yeah. Places.”

Lance lead him through the halls around the bonding cavern with utmost confidence, despite the fact neither of them had known they existed until a few hours ago, and Hunk slowed to a halt as he heard the near-musical drone of their target cavern’s special crystals. Shay’s face when she’d seen them regrown had been priceless, and he held it in his mind as Lance directed him to stand just shy of a deep doorway which would admit him to the front of the room, where an elder balmeran was waiting to direct them in asking the planet-being’s blessing.

“We are gathered here today, to witness an aulk bonding between two very special ones.” the elder said, his tone measured and voice low. “Come forth, Shay, speaker for our people amongst the stars.”

A low, appreciative murmur made his heart beat faster in anticipation, and he suddenly worried he might be underdressed.

“Come forth, Hunk, Paladin of Voltron.”

He took a deep breath, and took the two steps to bring himself into the room. And nearly stopped there, because Shay looked _beautiful_. She’d traded in her usual earthy green and muted gold for a tunic of vibrant balmeran blue, a geometric pattern picked out around the hems in what looked to be actual spent crystals. Her skin had been smoothed and somehow polished, shining soft as silk in the light of the crystals which decorated the ceiling and three walls of the cavern. Thankfully, his kept moving forwards on autopilot, and Shay held her hands out as he approached. He took them, her rough skin familiar against his own calloused palms, and leaned in to press his forehead and nose to hers. She smelled like something he had no name for, sharp and dry and earthy, and when they pulled apart he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.

“Hunk, Shay, today you have come here before your families to ask Balmera’s blessing.” the elder stepped aside, and gestured to a large spent crystal easily half again his height. “Place your palms upon the crystal, and speak your wish.”

Hunk glanced at Shay, and mirrored her action as she turned to face the crystal. They raised their hands, and Hunk shut his eyes as he focused on where his palm touched the massive gem. Inhale, exhale. “We wish your blessing, great balmera.” he intoned, speaking the words in unison with Shay. “That you may look favourably upon our union of aulk, and by your grace it may last as long as both our lives.”

He opened his eyes when Shay gasped, and drew a quick breath at the ripples of light dancing across the crystal’s surface, radiating from where they touched it. The ripples soon began to fade but the light show continued, wispy arcs of energy passing between their palms and fingertips until the space between them was alight like the castle’s crystal during a teludav jump.

“Balmera has blessed these ones.” the elder announced to the room, and Hunk looked away from the crystal to see Shay giving him the softest smile he’d ever seen on her face. “Have you anything to say to your families?”

Hunk shook his head. He’d already said everything he needed to, in the time between proposing to Shay and actually landing here for the ceremony.

“I do.” Shay turned, removing her hand from the crystal. Hunk turned with her, and when she took his hand he wove their fingers together easily, holding on tight. “Thank you for being here.” she said, stepping towards the seating. “I know some of you did not believe it possible for Balmera to bless a union with one so different from us, but you are here regardless, and for that I thank you.” she bowed briefly, and Hunk smiled at her.

“Ready to go?” he asked, and when she straightened up she nodded, giving his hand a squeeze. He squeezed back, and neither of them loosened their grip as they descended from the crystal’s natural shallow dias down the aisle towards the main entrance at the back of the cavern.

\---

They slowed to a stop in a quiet side tunnel, and Hunk fiddled with the clasp of his cape as Shay looked over the wall.

“This is the place.” she said after a few seconds, and turned to hold out a hand to Hunk. “Come.”

He placed his hand in hers, and let her press his palm gently to the smooth wall, worn down by generations of hands passing over it. “Like this?” he asked, spreading his fingers, and Shay nodded.

“Close your eyes, and reach out with your heart.” she said softly, moving her hand to press against the wall as well, so close her thumb hooked over his. “When we ask, Balmera will answer.”

Hunk nodded, and shut his eyes as he tried to sense the planet-creature’s life force. He could vaguely feel the energy pulsing around them like a great heartbeat, the subtle ebb and flow of charge across his skin, but the only presence he could sense was Yellow’s, far above on the surface. The stone under his hand warmed, and he gasped as a voice not unlike Yellow’s resonated through his mind in a language he couldn’t understand.

“Great Balmera, these ones seek your guidance.” Shay said softly as the voice like grinding stones faded to silence. “We wish-” he hesitated, and Hunk cracked open one eye to find her looking at him imploringly. Right, they were supposed to be asking together.

“We wish for a child.” he said, shifting his thumb so it pressed more firmly against Shay’s. His heart pounded in his throat, but he swallowed the nervous babble which threatened to spill out of his mouth. The balmera could read his mind, it surely already knew everything he was about to say. Shay elbowed him, and when he looked again she jerked her head towards the wall, indicating he should continue.

“We, uh, we just bonded, which you know of course, you were there.”

Shay facepalmed, and Hunk pointedly met her gaze as he motioned at the wall with his free hand. She was the one who knew these things!

“My aulk-bonded has long wished for a child, and I wish to provide it for him.” Shay said, turning to face the wall again and bowing her head, eyes sliding shut. Hunk did the same, unable to contain the smile on his face. Agreeing to have a kid in the future was one thing, but hearing Shay say that was a completely different story. “How may we have a child, if he is not balmeran?”

There was silence for a second, two, but the wall didn’t cool under his hand. After a moment the voice returned, the balmera speaking directly into his mind once more, and this time he found he understood. It wasn’t words, per-se, but concepts. Sacrifice, or transformation. Their options, he realised with a jolt. He turned to Shay, and found her already looking at him.

“These ones will consider your offering, great Balmera.” she intoned, curling her thumb to wrap around Hunk’s. “We thank you.”

“Thank you.” he echoed, and when Shay pulled her hand from the wall he brought his with, easily turning it to wind their fingers together. “So, those options.” he chuckled awkwardly, and Shay leaned in to press her forehead to his, nuzzling their noses together oh so briefly.

“We have much to discuss.” she murmured, her shoulders slumping. Hunk stepped closer, and tucked her head against his shoulder.

“Wanna get back to the castle?”

Shay nodded, and when she pulled away Hunk took her hand again. Transformation or sacrifice. He had a feeling this was going to be a big decision, no matter which option they went with, but deciding to have kids in the future was a huge decision in and of itself. At least they didn’t have to choose right away.


	8. Chapter 8

“So, wait.” Pidge frowned at him, kicking their feet in the water of the pool. “You’re actually thinking about going through with it?”

“Yeah.” Hunk nodded. “We just have to decide which method we’re going with.”

“Which method of what?” Lance asked, latching onto the edge of the pool and looking up at them, feet braced against the wall underwater.

“Hunk’s gonna have a kid.”

Lance’s eyes went comically wide, and Hunk couldn’t help but snigger. “Shay and I asked her balmera, after our wedding,”

“After you got balmarried.” Lance grinned, his freckles and other patches of crystallised skin glowing brighter, and Hunk rolled his eyes.

“That stopped being funny the third time, but yeah, sure. Anyways, we asked her balmera how we could have a kid, and it gave us two options.”

“And you haven’t brought this up with the team yet why?” Pidge raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not going to be relevant until we have time to swing by Shay’s balmera again.” Hunk shrugged. “And anyways, it’s gonna be less asking permission and more just, giving Shiro and Allura a heads-up.”

“So, what are the methods?” Lance asked, and Hunk sighed.

“There’s just the two of them. Either Shay and I give the balmera enough life force for it to create a child for us, or we let it turn me balmeran.”

Lance and Pidge both jolted at that, the faint happy glow of Lance’s marks snuffing out entirely. “Let it _what_?!” he yelped as Pidge stared, jaw fallen open.

“Turn me balmeran.” Hunk repeated. “Shay said their reproduction is based on some sort of fancy energy transfer, which is why she and Allura haven’t had any.”

“Aside from the whole thing with Allura being married.” Pidge pointed out, and Hunk shrugged.

“I mean, from the sound of it they talked about kids before Allura and Lotor got hitched, but yeah. Balmerans can only have kids with other balmerans, so if we don’t want to give years of our lives away-”

“Years?” Pidge’s eyes went wider.

“Yeah.” Hunk nodded. “By the few accounts we could find, the amount of energy needed for the balmera to create a new life is crazy high. Like, ten percent of your remaining life force.”

“Daaamn.” Pidge looked out over the pool as Lance made a low whistle.

“That’s a pretty steep price.”

“It’s not that much, really.” Hunk shrugged, picking at the hem of his swim trunks. “Probably six, eight years for me? It’d be more for Shay, balmerans live twice as long as humans.”

“So like, eighteen years for her?” Pidge mused.

“Yeah.” Hunk nodded. “And I _think_ it comes with some kind of protection? There’s references to the years spent being guaranteed, but I’m not sure if there’s any fine print about like, whether or not the kid has to stay on the balmera that whole time.”

“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?” Lance asked, pulling himself up to sit on the edge of the pool on Hunk’s right.

“Yeah.” he nodded. “We’re so close to peace, I just-” he sighed, dropping his hands to the tile on either side of him and looking at the blue-lit pool. “Idunno, it always seemed like this stuff was so far away.”

“I feel ya.” Lance nodded, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “But hey, whatever you choose, we’re here for you.” he grinned, and Hunk returned the smile as Pidge’s long arm wrapped around his waist, four-fingered hand coming to rest on his hip.

“Yeah, and I’m sure Shiro and Keith will be all for it too.”

“Thanks, guys.” Hunk threw his arms around their shoulders, and a moment later yelped as Pidge’s arm pushed him forward with inhuman strength, dumping him and Lance both in the water.

He surfaced spluttering, and when Lance popped up next to him his eyes were glowing dimly. “You little duendecillo!” he spat, splashing water at Pidge.

“Lance, I’m taller than you.” they laughed, and Hunk dropped underwater as Lance started splashing more water at their fellow Paladin. He distantly heard Pidge’s yelp as his hands closed around their ankles, and a sharp yank with his feet braced against the wall had them flying into the water.

He surfaced quickly to Lance laughing, and Pidge’s head popped up a second later with an indignant splutter. “Payback!” he grinned, and they slapped their hands on the surface of the water.

“It’s on!”

\---

Hunk took a deep breath, held it a second, then exhaled slowly. Shay’s hand tightened around his, and when he looked over she was giving him an encouraging smile. “They will understand.” she said softly, and he nodded. He knew they would, their years in space had forged them into a team as close to family as any group of unrelated peers could be, but knowing did nothing to quell the fluttery fear that threatened to choke him.

“Let’s just, get this over with.” he said, and Shay opened the door. In the room on the other side, the rest of the team sat around the little table set in the middle of the sunken couches that took up most of what had become their unofficial casual meeting room. All heads turned at the sound of the door opening, and Shiro shifted Matt off his shoulder as he sat up straighter, setting down his hand of cards on the low table.

“Something wrong?” he asked, and Hunk shook his head.

“Just, nervous.” he kept hold of Shay’s hand as they crossed to the couches and sat, Shay tucking her feet up so her knees pressed against his legs. “You’re probably wondering why I asked you all to meet us here.”

“A bit.” Keith nodded, the action mirrored by Matt and Allura. Pidge and Lance gave each other significant looks, but said nothing.

“Well, Shay and I have been talking...” he paused, looking down at their joined hands resting on Shay’s thigh. He’d rehearsed this so many times, but still the words stuck in his throat. Shay ran a thumb over his knuckles, and when he lifted his eyes he found her giving him a questioning look. He nodded minutely, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

“We have decided we would like to bring a new life into the world.” she said, and Lance beamed.

“O-kay?” Shiro frowned. “I’m not sure how that necessitates a team meeting, though.”

“We balmerans cannot create life with anyone but another balmeran.” Shay explained, pressing a hand to her chest.

“Then how-?” Matt’s brow furrowed, and Hunk found his voice again.

“Next time we visit Shay’s balmera, I’m going to ask it to change me.” he said as evenly as he could manage. The room went silent at that, every eye locked on him, and Hunk resisted the urge to squirm under their scrutiny. “I just, thought you guys should know because I’ll be out of commission for a while.”

“How long is a while?” Allura frowned.

“No more than a movement or two.” Shay assured her girlfriend.

“And how do we know this will work?” Shiro looked concerned, but not disapproving, which wasn’t exactly how Hunk had hoped this would go but was definitely better than he’d feared.

“Balmera has already touched this one’s soul.” Shay gave his hand a squeeze.

“And, it already knows humans.” Hunk added. “It saved Lance, remember?” he gestured at his teammate, who nodded.

“I don’t like the idea of you being out of commission for a week without a guarantee you’ll come back.” Shiro frowned at him, his gaze intense, but soon sighed and looked away. “But, you are an adult. If it won’t affect your ability to pilot Yellow, I can’t exactly stop you.”

Hunk sagged, all the air in his lungs escaping as breathless chuckles. Shay ran her thumb over the side of his hand, and when he turned towards her leaned in to nuzzle her nose against his cheek.

“Holy shit.” Keith muttered, and Hunk rolled his eyes.

“You don’t get to complain about PDA.” he scoffed.

“Fair, but also not what I was about to mention.” Keith cracked a smile, shifting where he was seated across Lance’s lap. “After this, we’re not gonna have any pure humans left on the castle.”

“Hey! I’m human!” Lance protested, pouting at his boyfriend.

“Your skeleton is made of crystal and you literally glow sometimes.” Pidge pointed out.

“Body mods.” Lance’s nose wrinkled, and Hunk sniggered as Keith gave Lance the flattest look possible. “Okay, _unintentional_ and super extensive body mods, but still!”

“You’re not worried?” Matt asked, and Hunk held up his free hand to tilt side to side.

“A little?” he admitted. “I mean, we’re talking artificial metamorphosis at a genetic level. That shit’s not even _theory_ back on Earth.” he felt Shay frowning at him, and leaned over so his shoulder bumped hers. “But it’s more like, ykno, pre-op nerves. Shay’s convinced it’s safe, and I trust her.”

“You’re not concerned about what people back home will think?” Matt raised an eyebrow, his skin shifting briefly to purple to emphasise his point.

Hunk looked at Shay, then at the rest of the team, and returned his attention to Matt with a shrug. “I mean, not really? We’ll be inducting Earth into the Imperial Coalition when we go back, so they’ll have to deal with aliens regardless, and with Voltron and ambassador stuff it’s not like I’ll be there full-time.”

“Plus, look at the rest of us.” Allura chimed in, gesturing at the whole group.

“Guess you’ve got a point.” Matt muttered, and Allura grinned as she reached out to run her fingers through his hair.

“Of course I do.”

Shay giggled, and Hunk relaxed as he leaned into her. The team approved. Now the only thing he had to worry about was the procedure itself.


	9. Chapter 9

“You’re gonna make sure Veks doesn’t let anyone else help him in the kitchen, right?”

“Yes, Hunk.” Lance rolled his eyes. “I promised, didn’t I? There’s no need to worry about that.”

“Last time I left my kitchen to someone else for more than a couple days it was a _wreck_ when I came back.” Hunk huffed, crossing his arms. “Why wouldn’t I be worried?”

“Maybe because we’re waiting for a planet-sized rock alien to inject you with its quintessence and turn you into a smaller rock alien?” Lance raised an eyebrow, and Hunk flushed to hear part of his earlier half-hysteric rant echoed back at him. “It’s okay, dude.” Lance squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. “Veks and I will keep the kitchen clean, and Allura and Shay both promised this would go smoothly.”

Hunk nodded, picking at the edge of the balmeran tunic that felt far too much like a hospital gown for comfort. Sure, they’d said it would go smoothly, but there was always the possibility of complications. Especially since he wouldn’t be on the balmera during the change but inside one of the cryo-pods on the castle. All the records Allura and Coran had been able to scrounge up indicated the patient had been buried inside the balmera for the duration of the metamorphosis, much like Lance had been when he was recovering from the crystal thing, but he’d put his foot down at the idea of being buried alive.

After all, not all the patients in the record had come out breathing, and if he died... well, suffice to say none of them could afford that, not with their final victory so close at hand. Knowing he’d be in a cryo-pod for the duration didn’t ease his nerves at all, though, because what if somehow that was what made it go wrong? What if fresh balmeran energy was needed for the process?

“You’re thinking too hard again.” Lance flicked him on the nose with a stern look, his eyes flashing dimly. “Talk to me about something.”

“What?” he asked, and Lance shrugged.

“You and Shay are planning to have a kid, right? What’s the timeframe on that?”

“Well, we’re not really sure.” Hunk hedged, and Lance fixed him with a flat look. “Soon, probably?” he offered.

“Not gonna spend a few years enjoying being kidless?” Lance grinned, raising an eyebrow. Hunk smiled back, and shook his head.

“I know it’s gonna be hard, especially since they won’t even be _human_ , but... I want this.” he looked down at his hands, lips curling up involuntarily. “Ever since my sisters were born, I’ve known I wanted to be a dad.”

“Wow, and I thought I was sappy.” Lance chuckled.

“I’m guessing you and Keith won’t be having kids any time soon?” Hunk asked, and Lance shrugged.

“Haven’t talked about it yet, but adoption takes a while regardless.”

“Right.” Hunk nodded, and Lance wandered over to the doorway.

“Y’all ready yet?” he called down the hall, and Hunk barely heard the response over his heartbeat suddenly pounding in his ears. This was it, it was really happening. Lance pulled him to his feet, and Hunk shuffled after him towards a vaguely familiar stretch of hallway. The one where Lance had been buried, he realised belatedly.

“Hunk? Hunk.” fingers clicked in front of his face, and he realised Allura was standing in front of him.

“What?”

“You have to get in.” she gestured to one of the roughly rectangular holes in the wall, and he swallowed heavily.

“I’m not getting buried alive, right?”

“Only briefly.” Shay said, taking both his hands. “Balmera will engulf you, grant you what is required, and then release you to us. These ones have discussed with it.” she gestured at Allura and the balmeran doctor who’d given him the tunic and told Lance to keep him company.

“Right.” he swallowed, and Shay squeezed his hands reassuringly.

“I will remain here to wait for your emergence.” she smiled, and he relaxed slightly when she leaned in to bump her nose against his. Not completely, though. He was still about to get sealed in a wall for an indeterminate amount of time, possibly up to a few hours, and he wasn’t claustrophobic but he was pretty sure anyone would freak out a little at the thought of being literally buried alive.

Still, he’d agreed to this. It was a necessary step in becoming balmeran so he and Shay could have a kid. He wasn’t going to be under for a whole week, just a little while. He stepped up into the wall hole the doctor indicated, and was passingly glad that the holes were rectangular not people-shaped. Feeling like he was living that one creepy-ass comic was the last thing he needed right now.

“Hey, Hunk?” Lance touched his knee, and Hunk looked down with a grimace. “You’re gonna be fine, I promise.” Lance grinned, and Hunk managed a chuckle.

“I know. Doesn’t make it feel any less like a horror comic, though.”

Lance’s face twisted up, his mouth pursing and nose wrinkling adorably. “Why’d you have to put that back in my head?”

“If I’m stuck living it, at the very least you gotta be thinking it.” he chuckled, and Lance reached up to jab him in the side.

“Now you know it’ll be okay, because there’s no way I’m letting you off the hook for making me remember that.”

Hunk laughed, and managed to lean back against the wall behind him without feeling like his spine was made of crimped steel. The dirt and stone around him began to move, and he shut his eyes as the balmera swallowed him up. Just an hour or two, he could do this.

He could do this.

\---

His head hurt. Hunk groaned and tipped forwards, blearily registering the chill which meant he’d been in a cryo-pod. He felt, weird, his limbs not quite attached to his body, a weightless sort of tingle radiating down from his shoulders and hips. He staggered a few steps, trying to pry his heavy eyelids open, and realised belatedly that he was tipping over backwards. He yelped, flailed, and tensed briefly as firm arms caught him before slumping in their hold. Shay’s hold, he realised as her rough skin pressed against his cryo-med suit.

“Wha’ time’s it?” he asked thickly, finally managing to prise his eyes open and look up at her. And promptly let out a wheeze like he’d been punched in the gut because she was _radiant_ , literally glowing with a dim coloured light he could only describe as bluish-yellow. Not green, but a mixture of pre-sunset summer gold and the soft cyan of the castle’s crystal.

“Are you alright?” she asked worriedly.

“Idunno.” he mumbled, and his tongue felt strange in his mouth. His whole mouth and face felt strange, his limbs light and body heavy and head aching. “I feel weird.”

“I’m not surprised.” Lance chuckled, and Hunk turned his head to see Lance surrounded by an aura of blue that matched his Lion near perfectly. “You did just finish getting turned into a totally different species.”

“A what?” his brow furrowed, and then his tail twitched. His... tail.

He staggered upright and looked down at himself, eyes widening. “It worked?” he asked, finally remembering why he’d been podded in the first place. “It worked!”

“It certainly did.” Shay laughed, catching one of his hands and running the pad of her thumb over the pointed ends of his fingers. His claws. He had claws now. And a tail! That must’ve been what threw off his balance earlier, he wasn’t used to having a tail.

“Holy shit.” he lifted his hand to feel his face, and winced as he scratched himself. Right, claws. He had to be careful about those now. He patted gently at the side of his face, finding a pointy horn curving out from the back of his jaw, and his heart leapt in his chest as he quickly felt on top of his head. One set of horns, not two, curved up and out like Rax’s instead of back over his skull like Shay’s. A laugh bubbled out of him, and he pulled Shay off her feet into a hug. She hugged him back, and when he set her down he couldn’t help the beaming smile on his face.

“It _worked_.” he laughed breathlessly, and she hugged him again.

“I told you, didn’t I? Balmera provides.”

“You did.” he lifted his hands to cup her cheeks, and pulled her in to press their foreheads together. “You definitely did.”

“Aww.” Lance cooed, and Hunk was startled not to feel his cheeks heat at the reminder they weren’t alone. Right, alien biology. In retrospect he probably should’ve read up more on that before deciding to become balmeran.

“The others should still be in the dining room. We should let them know you are well.” Shay giggled, lifting a hand to trace the base of his jaw-horn as she pulled away.

“I asked Keith to save you some dinner.” Lance added, and Hunk nodded an acknowledgement as Shay wrapped an arm around his waist and gently guided him towards the door. The dull lines of crystal blue in the doorframe brightened as they approached, the door sliding open, and his mouth fell open as he realised what he was seeing.

Quintessence, radiating from every living thing and any machine that ran on it. He wasn’t sure what the colours meant yet, but he could ask Shay later. After he’d eaten, and probably gotten some sleep too to shake off the post-pod grogginess. He had a feeling the next few days were going to be very, very weird.


	10. Chapter 10

He woke to gentle touches, the soft brush of rough skin against his jaw and forehead, tracing little circles around the base of his horns. He frowned, but only briefly before he remembered. He’d come out of his eight-day metamorphosis last night, balmeran, with everything a male balmera was meant to have. Which included two pairs of horns that Shay was currently alternating between, circling the ones she could easily reach with one claw in an idle rhythm.

“Good morning.” she murmured, and her cheek pressed against the back of his audial cone, hand lifting from the side of his face.

He let out a low grumble, and turned over with a huff. “Morning.” he mumbled back, curling forwards to press his face into her shoulder. The post-pod exhaustion was gone, but his headache wasn’t.

“How do you feel?” Shay’s hand settled on his shoulder blade. He shrugged.

“Headachy.” his stomach growled, and he pressed a hand to it. “Hungry.” a jolt shot through him and he sat up abruptly, head swivelling to the clock. “Crap, breakfast!”

“Relax.” Shay slung an arm across his lap before he could untangle his legs from the blanket, her hand curling around his hip. “Veks will keep Coran from ruining anything.”

“But-”

“Hunk.” Shay pushed herself up, resting her weight on the forearm not resting in his lap. “Rest.” her hand tightened, and he realised it wasn’t a suggestion.

“Alright.” he sighed, and Shay smiled as she waited for him to lie down so she could pillow her head on his chest.

“How do you feel?” she asked again, lifting a hand to run her thumb up the side of his jaw horn. “Aside from your hunger and headache.”

“Pretty good, actually.” Hunk grinned, lifting a hand to mimic Shay’s touch on her shorter, straighter jaw horn. Shay let out a happy little noise, and when she leaned down to press her forehead and nose to his he felt a strange vibration in his chest. “That was weird.” he muttered, and Shay giggled as she moved her hand from his jaw to her own chest.

“It is called resonance.” she said, and reached out to touch his face gently. “When two ones touch points of resonance, our cores harmonise.”

“Huh.”

“So many things, I forget you do not know.” she mused, running a thumb over his chin.

“I don’t know.” Hunk agreed, and caught her hand to bring it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to her palm. “But you can teach me.”

Shay beamed and leaned down to bump their noses together again, and this time Hunk realised the vibration in his chest was an emotion. Shay’s love and joy pulsed behind his sternum for just a moment before she pulled away, and Hunk found himself staring up at her, haloed by the rich orange-gold-cyan of what he could only think to call her aura.

“I would be honoured.” she smiled, and Hunk felt a strange sensation in his chest. Yeah, he should _definitely_ look up a file on balmeran anatomy later. Or, since breakfast wasn’t for a while and he didn’t have to be up to make it...

“How about we start now?” he asked, guiding her hand down to his chest.

“Oh, what with?” she grinned, shifting to straddle his hips.

“I, _may_ have forgotten to read up on balmeran physiology.”

Shay blinked at him, then pressed her lips together and made a sound strangely like a snort, for all that she didn’t have a nose. A second later she doubled over, pressing her forehead to his collarbone area as she laughed.

“I was busy!” he huffed, and Shay lifted her head to grin at him, her eyes shining and aura bright around her.

“You forgot.”

“Because I was busy.”

Shay leaned in and pressed her cheek to his, knocking their chin horns together and sending a pulse of delight through his chest. “Where should I begin?”

“How about we start with the points of resonance and work from there.” he suggested, and Shay pulled away only barely enough to nod. He settled in, tail flicking between his legs, and let her trace her fingers over his face as her giggles abated. He had a feeling this would be a lesson he’d enjoy.

\---

As he’d guessed fresh out of the pod, his first few days in his new skin were incredibly weird. On top of being able to see quintessence he could also pick up colours he hadn’t known existed before, and when it was dark he could see faintly glowing stripes on his friends’ skin. He was stronger too, and of course heavier, but his balance was better than ever after a day and a half to get used to having a tail. The weirdest thing to get used to, though, was the change to his mouth. The strange feeling on his tongue didn’t fade like the other things he’d felt coming out of his metamorphosis, and his teeth were... different. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but after a lifetime of having one type of teeth there was something incredibly disorienting about having a completely different set in his mouth.

Worst, though, was the sensitivity. He’d assumed that balmeran cuisine was bland because of the galra occupation during his first visit, but apparently not. Without a nose to do three quarters of the work, their tongues were four or five times more sensitive than a human’s. Which meant _his_ tongue was more sensitive than it had been a month ago and he had to build up a freaking _tolerance_ to be able to taste test his own food again, and spicy things were now forever off-limits. Lance had laughed himself stupid when Hunk found that out the hard way.

But, as much as having to re-learn one of the first kitchen lessons he’d absorbed rankled, it wasn’t enough to outweigh the positive aspects of his transformation. He was nearly as strong as Allura, his balance matched Lance’s, his eyesight was better than even Keith’s; and, of course, he had Shay. His tail wiggled at the thought of his aulk-bonded, and he smiled as he slipped the last little components back into place. The darkened machine lit up again, dim lines marking the circuits where quintessence would flow to power it, and he patted the side fondly. “Better?” he asked rhetorically, and leaned back to see Pidge waiting dutifully by the room’s breaker box.

“Try it now!” he called, and they threw the switch. Nothing exploded, not even a little, and Hunk beamed as he scooted backwards out of the high alcove which housed what had, half an hour ago, been a decidedly non-functional atmosphere processing unit.

“What I’d give to have eyes like yours.” Pidge sighed as he touched down on the ground and unclipped himself from the auto-belay system.

“You’re a shapeshifter.” he pointed out, hooking the clip to a loop on the wall. “All you have to give is some focus.”

“Yeah, but that’s like, _continual_.” Pidge huffed. “I meant a one and done payment, or like, installments or something.”

Hunk chuckled. “Careful, that way lies Repo.”

“Only if I can’t make my payments.” they cracked a grin. “And considering I’m in the good books of the Emperor of the Universe, well.” they shrugged. Hunk rolled his eyes.

“Well, now that we don’t have to worry about the air going stale in the upper decks, I’m gonna go to bed.” he unclipped his tool belt and hung it on its little wall hook, giving Pidge a wave over his shoulder. “Night!”

“Have fun with your girlfriend~” Pidge called after him. Hunk flipped them off without even lowering his hand. Sure, Shay had promised to walk him through the energy transfer balmerans used to spark a new life tonight, but it wasn’t like she was his girlfriend or even his wife. They were aulk-bonded, and anyways, it was like Lance had said years ago. It was the principle of the thing.


End file.
